Random

...The Presbyterian Church USA has yet another controversy brewing. One of their publishing houses is producing a book, Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action, which suggests that the September 11th attacks were engineered by the Bush administration. This would be an incredible feat since they were only in power for eight months prior to the attack. And when you consider the Bush administration's subsequent track record it's hard to believe that David Ray Griffin actually considers the government competent to conspire on such a level.

...American mainline denominations are in decline because of -- 1. competition, 2. lack of clarity in focus and message, 3. demographic shift. I suspect that #2 is the biggest issue. I'd put it in terms of lack of clarity regarding beliefs and mission.

...One of the problems with using Gmail with the Eudora email client (for years my favorite) is that when I send email through the Gmail server I always get an idiot message telling me that the mail can't be sent because of an SSL error and that the connection has been closed by a foreign host. However, the email goes through in spite of the message to the contrary. The message is a major annoyance -- especially if you're sending out lots of email over the Gmail server.

A web search suggests that many others are having the same problem. There is speculation on the cause -- but no one seems to have a solution. Anyone out there with new information? I run Eudora 7.0.1.0.

...LA's only country music station has changed formats.

First of all, I want to offer my condolences to the CM fans in the LA basin. I don't really like your music but I can feel your pain.

Secondly, I want to note that this is so indicative of the faddish nature of American culture. 20 years ago radio stations were scrambling to adopt a country format. Even small markets had three or four CM stations. When you drove across the US listening to radio you might think that CM had 80% of the stations tied up. But that wave has now washed back out to sea. The moral being -- don't build your life on meeting the desires of fickle people.

...Concerned over the commodification of what they see as a basic human right, United Church of Canada delegates adopted a resolution asking its members to stop buying bottled water. As goofy as this resolution sounds it does raise issues about whether clean drinkable water is a fundamental human right. Americans wouldn't really think in these terms but that's because we all have access to good water.

On Guam the tap water is supposedly potable but I wouldn't trust it. If there was ever a failure in the purification system (infrastructure failures are common) they might not get around to telling everyone for a week or two.

...Writely, the free online word processor, is now accepting new users.